Systems for dispensing a number of fluids in operations such as vehicle service and the like are well known. At the simplest end, a hand held meter and dispense valve might be used by an individual mechanic to add a predetermined amount of oil to a vehicle.
Typical of previous more sophisticated devices have been sold by the assignee of the invention, Graco Inc., under the designations FLUID COMMANDER.TM. and ELECTRONIC FLUID COMMANDER.TM.. In such devices a central control module or modules connected to one another control the pump, a solenoid valve adjacent to the dispense point and a meter which measures flow out of the dispense point in order to dispense fluids. The problem with such prior art systems is that such control modules have typically been located centrally as in for instance the main desk of a service facility which requires long runs of multiple cables to the various pumps, solenoid valves and meters for which control is desired.